Oxygen and Nitrogen-heterocyclic compounds are found in a vast number of natural substrates and biologically active molecules. In particular, phthalan, isochroman and isoindoline scaffolds are present in many classes of products such as antimicotics, antibiotics, antioxidants, pigments and fluorophores. Therefore several procedure dedicated to the buiding of such heterocycles have been developed. In this review a detailed analysis of literature data regarding these nuclei is described. Particular attention has been devoted to their biological and chemical potentialities and a deep investigation on the most important synthetic methods is reported. Cyclocarbonylative Sonogashira reaction of suitable alcohols and amides has been especially considered, since it represents a valuable and atom economic route to construct alkylidene phthalans, isochromans and isoindolines.Gianluigi Albano, born in Bari (Italy) in 1989, studied Chemistry at the University of Pisa (Italy), where he received his Master's Degree in February 2015. In November 2015 he started his PhD studies at the same university, under the supervision of Prof. Lorenzo Di Bari and Dr. Laura Antonella Aronica. His main research topics are focused on the synthesis and characterization of chiral conjugated oligomers for innovative optoelectronic applications and on the development of new protocols for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds through transition metals-promoted reactions.Laura Antonella Aronica graduated cum laude in Chemistry in 1995 from the University of Pisa. In 1999 she obtained her Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences. During this period she spent six months as research assistant at University of Ottawa with Prof. Howard Alper. She is presently a researcher at the University of Pisa and her major research interests are concerned with organometallic chemistry directed towards organic synthesis and in particular with carbonylative cross coupling reactions and their application to the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds.